One of the most common asked questions among community newbies surely is how to reset WordPress password. So, it’s only natural that we wanted to provide you with the on-the-point and straightforward answer to that question.
I mean, we’ve all been there. Forgot our password or something happened with the recovery email and such. Either way, before rushing to the dev with the screaming DM or an email, here’s how you cane change or reset WordPress password all by yourselves. Some of the ways are quick and easy, some require more knowleddge, which is why we’re only covering the easy ones 🙂
Now, depending on the level of access you have to your site, there are two ways to do the necessary change. One includes access to your recovery email (the easier way), and the other access to your cPanel (the not so easy but still simple enough way). Read on further steps and tutorials for both of them and do let us know which one was the one that helped you reset the password.
How to easily change or reset WordPress password in a database
Scenario 1
In the easier case scenario, you will access your WordPress dashboard by resetting the password via email. To do so, you’ll just need to follow these steps:
- Go to the login page of your WordPress site (example: domainname.com/wp-admin)
- Click on Lost your password? below the login boxes
- Enter either your admin Username or Email attached to it and click on Get New Password
- Check your email account for the recovery email with the subject [WordPress Site] Password Reset. In it, you’ll find a link to click to which will take you to the specific address
- Once on it, type in your New Password, confirm it and click on Reset Password.
That’s how you reset WordPress password the easy way. But…
Scenario 2
What happens when you don’t have access to a recovery email and can’t perform the scenario one steps? Well, you’ll need the help of the good pal cPanel. And don’t be intimidated, it’s perfectly doable even without any IT/tech knowledge, just as in the case.
So, what do you do? How do you reset WordPress password through cPanel? Just follow our steps.
- Log in to your cPanel account and go to the Database section
- Click on to the phpMaAdmin, and it will open the new tab
- Click your website database and look for the users table. By default, it is named wp_users but in case your database prefix is changed for any reason, you may see a different prefix instead of “wp”.
- Once there, click on Edit next to your Admin username
- Look for the user_pass column, put any password you want, make sure you have MD5 set in the Function box (otherwise it won’t work), click Go on the bottom and it’s done!
You’re successfully changed the WordPress password within cPanel and all by yourself!
Scenario 3
Now, there’s another way and reason why anyone should change WordPress password on a regular basis. Yes, talking about security reasons here. As we mentioned when discussed ways to improve WordPress password security, you really need to reset WordPress password pretty regularly. It’s one of the best ways to keep your site/blog secure. And, it’s really not challenging at all! Here’s how to do it:
- On your Dashboard menu go to Users > Your Profile
- Scroll down to the Account Management, and within New Password section click Generate Password button
- Click the Update Profile button, and you’re done!
Keep your site safe and secure and don’t forget to change your password often.
Wrapping Up
We hope this article helped you learn how to reset a WordPress password the easy way. There are also several other ways to do it, as described at WordPress.org site, but it requires more advanced knowledge of WordPress skills.
Feel free to share which way proved to be the right one for you and show us some love on Social, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest!
